Some of the key assets of commonwealth that i recognize mainly in my community is spirituality, history, and lastly sense of place.
I choose spirituality as one of the main key assets of common wealth because i come from an indigenous background and mostly everyone of the Taos Pueblo community is indigenous and i feel all native people are connected to land one way or another spiritually. The definition given for spirituality in the common wealth is “the web of relationships, connections and practices that kit together, persons, community, the environment, and cosmos.” i felt this strongly connected to my native ancestral roots in my community and felt this is ones of the biggest key assets i see in my community.
The second one i choose was history. The short definition of history in the commonwealth is “a local and regional knowledge of particular experiences lived over generations, as well as a capacity to transfer and preserve theses experiences through stories and memories.” I thought this was a very important key assets in my community. i say this because i come from a pueblo tribe called Taos pueblo which has tons and tons of history, very interesting history. To this day its a very active community that still has its language, traditional foods and tradition practices. The language of my pueblo is not written to everything you learn is taught orally or through stories. i feel the history of my community definitely shapes the people who live within.
The last one i choose was sense of place. The definition of sense of place in commonwealth is “that complex of meaning, that gives a landscape significance in the eyes of the people who inhabit it.” i choose this because i feel this one is very important, a sense of place to community, builds a community. My ancestors have lived on this land for 100s of years back to who knows when, and when i walk through the mountains or grow food in the land i feel a sense of purpose and i feel at home. Taos Pueblo is my home and will forever be.
Sincerely, Jennifer Kaasa
